It was part bachelor party (man-hugs everywhere), part high school reunion (Bill Wennington was the baldest, Stacey King the fattest), part roast (leave it to needler Phil Jackson to bring up the migraines), part memorial service (the dynastic Bulls of the 1990s are gone but certainly won’t be forgotten).

It was most wonderful.

The place to be in the NBA so far this season was snowy Chicago on Friday night, when the Bulls retired Scottie Pippen’s No.33 in a halftime ceremony that moved everyone in the building, including the visiting team.

We’re always opening up the record books to remember achievements, but almost never do we get to relive the emotion of past greatness. It was there Friday night – in every hug, in the 20-minute United Center standing ovation, in Jackson’s proud-father smile upon hearing a choked-up Pippen see his banner reach the rafters next to Michael Jordan’s and then tell Jordan he was “the greatest player who ever played the game and to be alongside him means so much to me.”

Lakers forward Lamar Odom summed up the whole thing as “inspiring.” Kobe Bryant called it a thrill and an honor to watch. The Lakers won the game that night, and as Odom explained later, “We wanted to play well as a team on a day like this. It was a historic day in basketball, especially for our generation.”

The reverence was obvious as the Lakers took seats on the arena floor like kids at a school assembly – all except Bryant, who somehow finagled the only chair – and sat transfixed to the video montages of Pippen’s greatest moments. (Note to Odom: Pippen’s highlights almost all came around the rim, so learn how to finish strong if you’re ever going to be as good as your training-camp tutor.)

Bryant recalled a meeting with Pippen about 10 years ago: “We just kind of talked and laughed a little bit. And then I brought up the topic of basketball, and the smile went away. Real quick. And that showed me how serious he is about the game, and that taught me a lot just right there.”

Pippen holds an intriguing place in basketball history. There’s no doubt that he rose to elite status only because he was able to accept secondary status – albeit not secondary to Toni Kukoc. Had he never been teamed with Jordan, no way Pippen would have wound up chosen one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players in the league’s 1996 pronouncement.

Yet reality is that Pippen was with Jordan through the ’90s and was the second star when the Second City had the greatest era in modern sports history. Pippen oversaw the triangle offense and usually brought the ball to Jordan so he could attack from the wing. Jordan was a marvelous defender, but Pippen was a defensive master – blocking shots, stealing passes and belting out that bass voice to keep the Bulls coordinated in team defense.

In his speech Friday night, Jackson said Pippen also was a much-needed motivator for those teams, which thrived on “Michael giving ’em hell and Scottie patting ’em on the back.” Charles Barkley, always sharp as a prick, delivered a predictably apt video message: “Michael Jordan should be kissing the ground that you walk on.”

Jordan had to laugh at that, and when he grabbed the mic, Jordan was straightforward with his sentiment. Jordan said of Pippen: “I love him like a brother. He was always there when I needed him.”

It’s as close as Air Jordan will ever come to singing “Wind Beneath My Wings” to anyone.

Pippen knew it, and that’s when he really almost overflowed.

The point that Jordan made repeatedly was that Pippen “had my back.” That makes clear who got to stand in front, but when it comes to Jordan, who doesn’t walk a step behind?

Had this night been a tribute to Jordan, it wouldn’t have felt so communal. To be the absolute best ever is a private penthouse, even if Jordan did win team championships. Celebrating him has to be celebrating him – ahead of celebrating his teams.

With Pippen, the banner goes from the ground up, if you know what I mean. On some level, Pippen’s jersey retirement was the recognition of Jordan’s supporting cast – the regular people.

That’s why this night felt like a team party. Asked what his young Lakers could take from watching the ceremony, Jackson said: “The obvious camaraderie between players who won a championship together. All the teams that win have to sacrifice, and they do it for each other.”

Which brings us back to that elusive feeling of being part of something special.

It is what Jackson came back to recapture yet again, what Jordan tried but failed to find in Washington and what Pat Riley seeks with Miami in his new comeback – which starts tonight at United Center, coincidentally.

Even Bryant looked out there Friday night and saw championship collaboration from a fresh perspective.

“When you go through it, it’s tough,” Bryant said. “From the outside looking in, you see things a little clearer.”

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